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Just thought I'd share my little restoration project of a Colt Mustang Nitelite in case anyone is interested. I'll give some before pics and some in progress pics. Then, if all goes to plan, the final, after pics. And yes, I know that refinishing a rare gun may lower it's value somewhat. For me, I'd rather have something that I can use, and not just sit in the safe. It's my gun, and I'll do with it what I please. So, neener neener. It's been a fun project so far.
Here's a few before pics that were taken by the previous owner:
And here's my progress so far:
The slide is complete. I bead blasted the top, front, and back of the slide and buffed the scratches/abrasions from the sides (flats). I also bead blasted the entire extractor to clean it up. Carbon deposits don't stand a chance against pressurized glass beads, lol. Then, I polished the feed ramp, muzzle, and hood of the barrel. Also, I replaced the plastic guide rod with a stainless steel one, replaced the recoil springs, and replaced the damaged rear sight with a new one.
Here's the disassembled frame (mostly, that is. waiting on a cup tip punch to arrive, so I can remove the trigger and disconnector):
That's about it for now. Once my punch set arrives, I'll remove the trigger and disconnector. Then I'll bead blast the entire frame, and spray it with a couple or few coats of a special clear coat to protect the alloy. I've got a new stainless trigger on the way as well, to replace the crappy plastic one that Colt thought was a good idea for these Mustangs, for some reason.
Here's a few before pics that were taken by the previous owner:
And here's my progress so far:
The slide is complete. I bead blasted the top, front, and back of the slide and buffed the scratches/abrasions from the sides (flats). I also bead blasted the entire extractor to clean it up. Carbon deposits don't stand a chance against pressurized glass beads, lol. Then, I polished the feed ramp, muzzle, and hood of the barrel. Also, I replaced the plastic guide rod with a stainless steel one, replaced the recoil springs, and replaced the damaged rear sight with a new one.
Here's the disassembled frame (mostly, that is. waiting on a cup tip punch to arrive, so I can remove the trigger and disconnector):
That's about it for now. Once my punch set arrives, I'll remove the trigger and disconnector. Then I'll bead blast the entire frame, and spray it with a couple or few coats of a special clear coat to protect the alloy. I've got a new stainless trigger on the way as well, to replace the crappy plastic one that Colt thought was a good idea for these Mustangs, for some reason.